Unlikely Friendships

Written by National Geographic magazine writer Jennifer Holland, Unlikely Friendships documents one heartwarming tale after another of animals who, with nothing else in common, bond in the most unexpected ways.

A cat and a bird. A mare and a fawn. An elephant and a sheep. A snake and a hamster. The well-documented stories of Koko the gorilla and All Ball the kitten; and the hippo Owen and the tortoise Mzee. There are also inexplicable stories of predators befriending prey—an Indian leopard slips into a village every night to sleep with a calf. Jennifer Holland narrates the details and arc of each story, and also offers insights into why and how these wonderful little friendships seem to spark under such unlikely conditions.

Collected from around the world and documented in a selection of full-color candid photographs, this book will quickly become a treasure.